According to Football London, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes that should Chelsea fail to achieve a Champions League spot this season, it could be down to their new keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea needed a new shot-stopper this summer as they decided to grant Thibaut Courtois his wish and allow him to sign for Real Madrid instead of losing him for nothing when his contract expired next summer.
New coach Maurizio Sarri wanted to sign Alisson as his replacement, but the Brazilian international decided on a move to Anfield instead, so Sarri had to continue his search elsewhere.
He eventually decided that Arrizabalaga was his man, and signed him for £71 million from Athletic Bilbao.
The 23-year-old has had an indifferent start to his Chelsea career – he looked extremely nervous during the opening game win against Huddersfield, and he should have done better to prevent Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal at the weekend after letting the ball slip through his hands and into the back of the net.
However, despite Chelsea’s strong start to the new season under Sarri, the ex-Liverpool defender does not believe it is a given that the Blues qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
When talking about this issue on Sky Sports, Carragher said:
It’s hard to leave Chelsea out. But you think of them playing Thursday and Sunday and the goalkeeper is still young. He may go on to become one of the world’s best, but he’s not Courtois. They have lost one of the world’s best. I think the other sides have just got the edge on them, but we are talking fine margins.
